Reliability Update for Vista

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MS has relased a reliability update for Vista:

KB941649 address the following issues:

It extends the battery life for mobile devices.

It improves the stability of portable computers and of desktop computers that use an uninterruptable power supply (UPS).

It improves the reliability of Windows Vista when you open the menu of a startup application.

It improves the stability of Internet Explorer when you open a Web page.

It improves the stability of wireless network services.

It shortens the startup time of Windows Vista by using a better timing structure.

It shortens the recovery time after Windows Vista experiences a period of inactivity.

It shortens the recovery time when you try to exit the Photos screen saver.

It improves the stability of Windows PowerShell.

A compatibility issue that affects some third-party antivirus software applications.

A reliability issue that occurs when a Windows Vista-based computer uses certain network driver configurations.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=9160

EDIT: HEARING WORD THAT THIS MAY CAUSE ISSUES WITH 64BIT OS.
 
If you try it out can you post if you are using 32-Bit or 64-Bit Vista...I will try when I get home.
 
It's not in Window's Update, so I'll pass for now, thanks.
 
I have a Vista Business x86 machine that's purely for testing that I'll load it on. The PC isn't having any issues right now, so unless something breaks, I won't be able to tell a difference.
 
What the heck...I'm in. Letcha know what happens after I install.

Later...
Well boot does seem a bit faster, otherwise I guess its cool.
 
Installed. It reduced memory usage by ~15%.
Vista 32bit.
 
if you look at the links underneath it, there are more hotfixes as well...
 
Causes some systems using AHCI to freeze during boot. Freezes at crcdisk.sys. Safe mode fails to boot as well. Workaround is to switch from AHCI to IDE in BIOS. Reboot. Uninstall. Turn AHCI back on. Reboot.
 
installed without problems on mine
vista ultimate 64

as a side note, I like the faster boot times, used to take 11 swipes to login, now it's down to 6.
 
The Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) is a hardware mechanism that allows software to communicate with Serial ATA (SATA) devices such as host bus adapters which are designed to offer features not offered by Parallel ATA (PATA) controllers besides higher speeds, such as hot-plugging and native command queuing. The specification details a system memory structure for computer hardware vendors in order to transfer data between system memory and the device.
 
I installed it on my Everex 5000t, my eMachines 6811 laptops and a custom built desktop all running x86 systems all with Vista Home Premium with no ill effects. The boot time is much shorter and I've had no wireless conflicts since installation. Looks safe so far.
 
I currently have driver signing disabled on Vista 64. Does anyone know if this forces it back on (like the last 2 reliability updates).
 
I'm having problems here aswell, with Vista Home Premium x64.
I tracked it down to the JMicron controller that's on my Asus P5B Deluxe board.
If I disable it, it boots fine, if I enable it, it gets stuck... It even got stuck during the installation of the hotfix, just before it wanted to shut down the system for a restart.

I have two IDE drives (a DVDRW and a CDRW) on that controller, so it's quite important to me. I'm now going to try and see if I can get it installed if I have the latest drivers for the controller. They were released only a few weeks ago, but I never bothered to look, because the drives have worked fine so far.

It's one of those nasty Taiwanese sites, so downloading is troublesome. It cuts off after about 9% downloaded (at good speed too), then I have to reconnect and resume.

I'll see if this fixes it. At least anyone with a JMicron controller (most recent Asus boards, and various other brands too), and possibly also other third-party controllers... if you get stuck with this hotfix, try to disable any controller that you can disable. Then you may get Vista to boot again, and you can uninstall the hotfix, and re-enable the controllers.

Edit:
Indeed, the new drivers did the trick.
So my advice to everyone here is: make sure all your drivers are up-to-date before applying this hotfix.
And since the JMicron ftp is absolutely appalling, I have uploaded the driver to my webspace for your convenience: http://bohemiq.scali.eu.org/JMB36X_WinDrv_WHQL_R1.17.27WHQL.zip
 
For me it says installation failed...no idea why...I have Vista Ultimate x86 and I am trying to install the x86 version...
 
Works very well in my case (Vista64) boot time is noticeably shorter (I dont care about boot times anyway because this rig is working 24/7 and I only reboot because of windows updates and when I get new drivers).
 
Well, "Problem Reports and Solutions" pointed me to this update on the 3rd, after I got a pop-up telling me I should check for new solutions to problems and then did so.

I must say I don't notice anything helpful with my install of Vista Home Premium (32-bit). I guess it could be faster at booting, but if it is not a noticeable difference, I don't see how it actually matters.

Maybe it will prevent Superfetch from experiencing future "Stopped working" type issues, as "Problem Reports and Solutions" claims. In the last 7 months that has only happened twice. The first time was back in April, and the second time was in July. I am not exactly going to hold my breath until the solution is confirmed when the frequency of the issue is so low.

I am impressed that Vista kept track of an error it experienced only twice before, and it was able to tell me when an update addressed the issue. Even when the update was not available on "Windows Update". Pretty cool. :cool:
 
after a few bootups now i've noticed the boot times are actually LONGER from what it was before the update. i'm running business x64. i guess if this the problem that was alluded to by the red text then that would be it. i wasn't having any other problems with the OS and everything worked correctly so if this is the case for you, if it ain't broke don't fix it. :p ;)
 
Are you guys with 64bit installing the one for x64? Just checking...

I will try it out on my 32bit system today as well.
 
Grentz said:
Are you guys with 64bit installing the one for x64? Just checking...

I will try it out on my 32bit system today as well.
Click to expand...
Well I imagine so, since the 32bit one won't install ;). Thankfully Microsoft is smart enough to do version checking D:. By the way, I installed it.. ultimate x64, working just fine, but I am seeing no real benefits. Vista has pretty much been perfect for me, so I'm in good shape. :>
 
Well I installed it on my desktop (Specs in sig) and all is fine. I have had no issues with Vista as well so I have not really noticed anything yet.

Also I have a P5B-E w/Jmicron IDE and it installed just fine without me updating drivers or anything. I never did install any drivers for the Jmicron though...I just use the default MS ones...
 
Grentz said:
Are you guys with 64bit installing the one for x64? Just checking...

I will try it out on my 32bit system today as well.
Click to expand...

no...i installed the 32bit version.




lol

come on now. you gotta give us more credit than that,
 
I'm usually the last one to beta test MS hotfixes... but I've been having problems with the Asus P5K Deluxe-WiFi edition wireless adapter dying in the middle of the day which requires a reboot - so I thought I'd give it a try!

Vista hangs on reboot. Same with safe mode, last known good configuration.

I booted from the installation DVD, used system restore (which I only have enabled because I find the Shadow Copy service useful), and that fixed the problem.

I see that it might have been JMicron driver related - eh, I'll mess with it later :)
 
This update caused all sorts of slowdowns especially with my internet. Also my little mouse icon would freeze instead of spinning. I uninstalled the update and everything is much better again. I cant believe I put up with the sluggish internet surfing for those few days. I was at the point where I thought my internet service was borked but the speeds and ping were fine so there was definitely a problem with this Microsoft patch.
 
Vista 64, installed no problems, startup does seem faster. No other issues or slow downs.
 
dennab205 said:
This update caused all sorts of slowdowns especially with my internet. Also my little mouse icon would freeze instead of spinning. I uninstalled the update and everything is much better again. I cant believe I put up with the sluggish internet surfing for those few days. I was at the point where I thought my internet service was borked but the speeds and ping were fine so there was definitely a problem with this Microsoft patch.
Click to expand...

hmm, that's strange. I've had none of these issues since installing. bootup does in fact seem quicker.
 
Can't say for sure if it was this update, or just the act of installing the update. But it's managed to fix a major domain logon problem we were having on our Dell GX280's. If it holds up well, we'll add this to 931770 as mandatory domain hotfixes.
 
Betrayer00GT said:
Well, "Problem Reports and Solutions" pointed me to this update on the 3rd, after I got a pop-up telling me I should check for new solutions to problems and then did so.

I must say I don't notice anything helpful with my install of Vista Home Premium (32-bit). I guess it could be faster at booting, but if it is not a noticeable difference, I don't see how it actually matters.

Maybe it will prevent Superfetch from experiencing future "Stopped working" type issues, as "Problem Reports and Solutions" claims. In the last 7 months that has only happened twice. The first time was back in April, and the second time was in July. I am not exactly going to hold my breath until the solution is confirmed when the frequency of the issue is so low.

I am impressed that Vista kept track of an error it experienced only twice before, and it was able to tell me when an update addressed the issue. Even when the update was not available on "Windows Update". Pretty cool. :cool:
Click to expand...

Ah! Somebody who adopts a SENSIBLE approach to using and assessing an update. The 'problems' a pack like this'n will address are specific to certain hardware combinations, as a general rule, and the updates should really only be used by people with those particular hardware combinations and problems.

I got pointed at this update by 'Problem reports and solutions' too, on a machine which has been problemmatic since day dot. It's a rig built around a secondhand Asus mobo, and put together from recycled bits 'n pieces. Worked fine most of the time, but intermittently had all sorts of issues, with freezes, bluescreens and sometimes even 'losing' the system drive altogether, anywhere except the POST check. I'd assumed there was simply a bit of dodgy hardware in it, and hadn't worried too much because I plan to replace it after Christmas anyway. At worst, a reboot or three resolved issues when they appeared.

This update now has that rig running without problems. None of my other Vista rigs have issues, and on none of those have I been directed to this update. Wouldn't make sense to install it on any of those rigs ;)
 
Catweazle said:
None of my other Vista rigs have issues, and on none of those have I been directed to this update. Wouldn't make sense to install it on any of those rigs ;)
Click to expand...

Well, to be fair, there is a mentioned Windows loading speed improvement for the update. That was just one of several, though.

In comparison, I saw a USB related hotfix somewhere, and when I went to install it Vista actually refused with a message stating that "this fix does not apply to your hardware" or some such similar message. It seems that if Vista doesn't think an update applies to you at all, it will just not apply it. That everyone else here could apply this one probably means that some part of it applies to everyone. Such as the load time improvements (not for everyone, it would seem).
 
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